Annalisa12

Should you be given a cheaper option if you don't want your room made up? It means less costs for the hotel.

roberino

Sadly not. I'm told that the hotel still needs to have the same number of cleaners turn up for work to clean all the rooms so there's no real cost saving to them. Even if they got the number of people that opted out of room cleaning the night before, imagine being the person who got told they were losing a day's pay at short notice.

stut

Certainly in the UK, there's a high chance that hotel cleaners will be contracted out, and on zero-hour contracts. This happens with a sad frequency.

Skatering

I stayed in a hotel that offered a daily discount for declining housekeeping. Filled the form in and dropped it at the front desk pronto.

MSPeconomist

Most Starwoods offer 500 points per night for declining housekeeping, obviously on multi night stays.

Tchiowa

I usually face the opposite. I'll put the dnd sign on the door then a few hours later order room service. Then I get a call telling me that the room service is outside my door but won't knock because the dnd sign is on the door.

Whenever I leave the room I tell the desk on the way out to have someone make up my room now if they can. Very rarely do they miss.

lmashton

Yup. Not once have I had a hotel actually follow their own instructions. I have to tell them, verbally, and follow that up with insistence that no, I do not need the sheets and towels changed, thank you.

I really really really wish they'd follow their own instructions.

I would love it if I could use a menu, so to speak, to check which things I want done daily or weekly. Towels, weekly. Sheets, weekly. Garbage (when we have a kitchen), daily.

Annalisa12

i always want clean towels daily.

Steve M

Agreed.

The slip of paper serves an important purpose, and I don't think it's passive/aggressive. It tells you that the decision point of not servicing your room for the day has passed, and that you need to call someone if you want service. Without this notification, what can happen is that a guest leaves the room at an hour that they think is reasonable enough to expect housekeeping service, but then comes back and is mad because the room is not made up. The slip of paper prevents this kind of misunderstanding. If you really don't want service that day, it's easy enough to ignore, and accept that it may be important to others.

Do you think they put it there for their own jollies? Obviously, some guests would like decaf. Why on earth would this bother you?

Now, that's a problem.

Steve M

At least in the US, I'd expect that essentially all housekeepers are paid by the hour. So it's not an issue of working a full shift or not at all. If they run out of rooms to service, then some housekeepers can be dismissed early.

txflyer77

Here's a new one, just ran into this at the Grand Hyatt Dubai.

Lots of higher-end hotels have moved from make-up-room door-hangers to light switches—but the switch is near the door.

The GH Dubai put it near the bed, with a label that's illegible in low light. And it's on the same bank as a bunch of light switches. So in an effort to turn on the lights, I furiously ring the bell for maid service multiple times without realizing it.

And then get a call from housekeeping at midnight asking if I really want service right now.

Annalisa12

Many of Australia's housekeeping staff would be casual. Usually 3 hour minimum shift if called in and you start however no call in means no pay.

krazykanuck

Out of curiosity, do you change out the towels every day when you're home? Just curious your expectations of there vs what you do yourself

God knows I sure don't change them daily, usually just throw them in the laundry when I do my weekly batch (usually Sundays).

Kevin AA

I know someone who cleans rooms at a motel (cheap place, $60/night). She gets $3.50 per rented room. So, in that case, a do-not-disturb sign is an easy $3.50. A messy room could mean a measly $3.50 to work 30 minutes (it's measly because she spends 2-3 hours a day washing linens). Clearly most of your nightly rate is for the property itself, not the maid. I always leave my room in a reasonable condition, requiring only about 15 minutes to clean it.

cbn42

My policy is to decline all housekeeping. I guess I would make an exception if I were staying in the same room longer than 5-6 days, but that hasn't happened yet. As long as they honor the DND sign, there will be no problems. If I need a new towel or something, I call the desk and they send it up. Daily housekeeping seems completely unnecessary to me, and I don't like the idea of strangers (particularly poorly paid ones) having access to my belongings.